title: The Allee effect in site choice behaviour of egg-laying dengue vector mosquitoes.
abstract: Surveillance and control of the dengue vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is commonly reliant on its egg-laying behaviour, which is affected by the presence of conspecific eggs. However, the influence of varying egg density and breeding site choice on Ae. aegypti egg-laying strategy is unclear. In this laboratory study Ae. aegypti demonstrated a strong oviposition preference for substrates with intermediate numbers of conspecific eggs, thus demonstrating an 'Allee effect'. The withholding of some eggs, a trait required for skip oviposition, was almost non-existent when no site choice was available, regardless of egg density; indicating that skip oviposition behaviour is modulated according to the availability of suitable sites. These experiments have revealed a hierarchy of oviposition choices in Ae. aegypti that may thwart attempts to use semiochemicals from eggs to enhance oviposition-based surveillance and control methods.
authors.affiliation: Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5001. craig.williams@unisa.edu.au
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Katherine
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Natasha
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Veronica
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D009033:Culicidae / Q000502:physiology*; D003715:Dengue / Q000635:transmission*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology*; D010063:Ovum